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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly and Caitlin Cassidy (earlier)

National cabinet meets as more than 21,000 cases recorded – as it happened

And with that, we are going to end Thursday’s blog.

Before we go, let’s recap the big stories from today:

  • NSW recorded 12,226 new Covid cases and one death, Victoria 5,137 cases and 13 deaths, Tasmania 92 cases, Queensland 2,222, the ACT 253, South Australia 1,374, the Northern Territory 37 and Western Australia one.
  • The national total was 21,343 new cases.
  • A child under two who was Covid-positive died in South Australia.
  • Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty after sex-trafficking trial in New York.
  • The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, told people to “avoid the mosh pit” this New Year’s Eve amid rising cases.
  • The independent expert group OzSage released a set of Covid policy recommendations, saying it was “deeply concerned” by the spike in case numbers.
  • The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, took aim at the prime minister, Scott Morrison, over the shortage of rapid antigen tests.
  • Old Parliament House was set alight by protests linked to “sovereign citizen” groups.
  • The prime minister said Omicron was a “game changer” after national cabinet met.
  • National cabinet agreed on a new definition of “close contact” and said Covid testing centres would provide rapid antigen tests.
  • The PM also said free rapid antigen tests will only be provided for those who meet “close contact” criteria.
  • More than 50% of eligible people have had their booster shot.
  • Tasmania announced it would drop PCR tests for interstate arrivals.
  • The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, said WA agreed “in principle” to national cabinet’s new definition of close contact.
  • Another act pulled out of Sydney festival over Israeli embassy sponsorship.

And that is it! We will see you tomorrow for the last blog on the last day of the year.

Updated

And we have a statement from the prime minister, Scott Morrison, about the national cabinet meeting.

Here are some lines from it:

Omicron case numbers continue to increase in Australia and globally. Omicron continues to show greater infectivity than the Delta variant, but with less severity. Prof Kelly noted that a recent study from South Africa has confirmed a 73% reduction in severity of disease with Omicron compared with Delta.

Total active cases in Australia have reached over 110,000 cases. However, hospitalisation, ICU and ventilation case numbers remain low and within anticipated capacity. There were 1,481 cases in hospital, 122 cases in ICU with 51 of those requiring ventilation. These numbers are remaining relatively constant.

National cabinet has agreed to Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) advice to reset TTIQ in the context of high case numbers and the Omicron variant, so that Australians can continue to live with Covid-19.

The revised approach is complementary to the importance of vaccinations including boosters and existing public health and social measures.

Specifically, national cabinet agreed to revised definitions for who is a close contact, how they are isolated and testing arrangements.

Updated

AMA criticises national cabinet's new definition of who is a close contact

The Australian Medical Association has released a statement following the national cabinet decision to adopt a new definition of who is a close contact.

The AMA president, Dr Omar Khorshid, said narrowing the definition to household contacts will lock in very high transmission rates and accelerate the outbreak of Omicron.

“We will miss so many more cases with this new, more narrow definition of a close contact,” Khorshid said.

“Anyone catching Omicron in a restaurant or pub for example and who are asymptomatic won’t know they’re infected and could pass the virus on to more vulnerable people.

“The change will help to preserve testing capacity and should limit the number of furloughed health workers, but it will come at the cost of accelerating the outbreak.”

File photo of AMA president Omar Khorshid speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra
File photo of AMA president Omar Khorshid speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra earlier this year. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Khorshid said hospitalisations would rise in the coming weeks because of the high case numbers.

The AMA called for the release of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee’s (AHPPC) advice and modelling that supports the national cabinet decision.

“Without the release of AHPPC’s advice, it is very difficult for us to share the prime minister’s confidence that this move will assist in keeping Australians safe and healthy.”

Updated

Cricket referee David Boon will be out of action for the Sydney Test after testing positive for Covid.

In a statement, Cricket Australia announced Boon was in hotel quarantine:

The ICC match referee for the Vodafone men’s Ashes series, David Boon, has tested positive to Covid-19 following a PCR test,” the statement read.

Steve Bernard, a member of the International Panel of ICC Referees and based in NSW, will take over as match referee for the fourth Ashes Test match, starting on January 5 at the SCG.

It is anticipated that David Boon will return to the role for the fifth Test in Hobart, starting on January 14. He is asymptomatic and fully vaccinated, including having a booster.

Boon will remain in Melbourne and in line with Victorian state government health guidelines will continue quarantining for 10 days.

David Boon at The Gabba, prior to play on day one of the First Ashes Test on 8 December
David Boon at The Gabba prior to play on day one of the First Ashes Test on 8 December. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated

Opera Australia’s much-loved New Year’s Eve performance of La Bohème is cancelled due to a Covid outbreak.

In a statement, CEO Fiona Allan said:

Enormous thanks to everyone at the company who have worked tirelessly, trying everything possible to get us back on stage but I don’t think any of us could have foreseen just how fast Omicron would spread and the effects it would have on the industry.

As disappointing as this news is, both for our performers and for our audiences who we know were very much looking forward to attending NYE, we must now turn our full attention to opening the summer season on Tuesday 4 January.

Opera Australia’s production of La Bohème at the Sydney Opera House
Opera Australia’s production of La Bohème at the Sydney Opera House. Photograph: Prudence Upton/Opera Australia

Opera Australia is contacting New Year’s Eve ticket holders, who have paid upwards of $269 a seat, to offer credit vouchers and full refunds. On Wednesday, Guardian Australia learned there were more than 20 positive Covid cases at Opera Australia across the performing company. Opera Australia is scheduled to present full seasons of La Bohème, Turandot, Otello, The Marriage of Figaro and La Juive from 4 January-26 March.

Here’s yesterday’s story:

Updated

More sporting fixtures have fallen victim to the surge in Covid infections, the latest being Thursday’s Big Bash League meeting of the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars in Melbourne, because of a positive case in the Stars camp.

Saturday’s A-League Men’s game between Western Sydney Wanderers and Western United has also been called off, as has the A-League Women’s match between Melbourne City and Newcastle Jets, scheduled for Sunday.

The A-Leagues said in a statement an unspecified number of City players had tested positive but were not feeling unwell, while the cases causing the men’s postponement were in the Western United squad.

Despite a rash of cancellations the governing body continues to insist the season will continue.

Updated

When’s a good time to release some bad data... how about the eve of New Year’s Eve?

So today, the Queensland government has published the delayed Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) that covers land clearing for the 2018-19 year.

During those 12 months, landholders cleared 680,688 hectares. It’s a bit tricky to compare with previous years – such as the 392,000 hectares reported cleared in 2017-18 – as the remote technology has been improved.

Still, it appears that Queensland is clearing a lot of land. The 2018-19 tally amounts to about 3,800 times the size of Melbourne’s CBD, or more than 2,400 times Sydney’s.

“This report is a carbon bomb that threatens to blow up the commitments to net zero emissions by 2050 made by the Queensland and Australian governments,” Dr Stuart Blanch, WWF-Australia conservation scientist, said in a statement.

“It shows clearing has likely been significantly under-reported in previous reports. The latest SLATS data was compiled using satellite images that are three times more accurate than the previous imagery and cover much more of the state. The data provides a new national best-practice standard that all governments and industry should adopt,” Blanch said.

To give the amount some context, Australia’s national greenhouse gas inventory estimated landclearing in the 2018 calendar year was about 370,000 hectares nationwide. In that year, the commonwealth government also claimed the land sector was a net sink in the order of more than 20m tonnes of carbon dioxide.

As Guardian Australia reported a couple of months ago, there is good reason to think Australia’s statistics underestimate the amount of landclearing that is going on. Today’s figures from Queensland are only going to add to those concerns.

Updated

Another act pulls out of Sydney festival over Israeli embassy sponsorship

Another act has withdrawn from the 2022 Sydney festival in protest against Israeli embassy sponsorship.

Today the intercultural dance company Marrugeku pulled its performance of Jurrungu Ngan-ga [Straight Talk] out of the festival program. The company put out the following statement:

We took this decision in light of Sydney festival’s actions to seek and retain funding from the state of Israel. It is our responsibility to ensure that the strong voices within Jurrungu Ngan-ga: First Nations Australians, people seeking asylum alongside allied settler artists from diverse backgrounds, can perform with clear liyan (spirit and wellbeing). It is critical that the dancers will be heard, particularly in these circumstances as Jurrungu Ngan-ga embodies the essence of solidarity.

The company added:

With that in mind we respectfully ask that the festival review their decision to return the funding for the sake of community harmony, the cultural safety of artists and the benefit of our audiences.

The show will still run at Carriageworks from 26-29 January, just not under the umbrella of the festival. Tickets issued through festival will be cancelled and refunded by the festival, and punters can secure new tickets here.

As Guardian Australia has previously reported, a number of acts have pulled out of Sydney festival over the $20,000 sponsorship deal with the Israeli embassy to stage a production of the Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin’s Decadance by the Sydney Dance Company.

The protests have been backed by a coalition of Arab and pro-Palestinian organisations (including the Arab Australian Federation, Greens for Palestine, Independent Australian Jewish Voices, Jews against the Occupation Sydney, the Sydney representative for BDS and United Australian Palestinian Workers) and assorted artists and academics.

Yesterday Karla Dickens pulled her work Return To Sender out of the festival. Other artists to have withdrawn include Blake prize-winning artist Khaled Sabsabi, Malyangapa and Barkindji rapper Barkaa, South Asian dance company Bindi Bosses, the Arab Theatre Studio, the Bankstown poetry slam and journalist Amy McQuire.

Updated

Australia recorded 21,343 new cases in total

Here is a breakdown of all the new cases today:

  • NSW recorded 12,226 cases
  • Victoria recorded 5,137 cases
  • Queensland recorded 2,222 new cases
  • South Australia recorded 1374 new cases
  • Tasmania recorded 94 new cases
  • The ACT recorded 252 new cases
  • The Northern Territory recorded 37 new cases
  • Western Australia recorded one new case

The national total for Thursday: 21,343 new cases.

Updated

ACT chief minister Andrew Barr has released a statement after nat cab.

Here are a few lines about rapid antigen tests from it:

NSW will provide around 1 million RATs at cost to the ACT from 17 January 2022.

We have more RATs on order to respond to the evolution of testing arrangements in the context of higher case numbers and community transmission.

National cabinet has also agreed to work on a concessional RAT supply arrangement to provided highly subsidised tests to low-income households. Further details will be provided in the coming weeks.

Updated

Victoria has closed some testing sites because of the heat.

Updated

McGowan is asked if WA will adopt the new close contact definition before 5 February. He says:

In this morning’s meeting there is wide acceptance, in particular from the prime minister, that Western Australia is different.

And we don’t have large numbers of cases. In fact, we have one case today.

NSW had 11,000. So we are in a very, very different position to the other states. Which is why our testing, tracing isolation and quarantines ystems are all still working.

Overthere, they have all collapsed. So that’s why we are able to hopefully eliminate this, because our systems are still working.

And so we will adopt those rules around close contacts at some point in time in the future when necessary, if we get to high caseloads. So that’s the agreement of the meeting this morning.

Obviously it wouldn’t be, in my view, it wouldn’t be before February 5.

Mark McGowan at his press conference in Perth
‘We are in a very, very different position to the other states’: Mark McGowan at his media briefing in Perth today. Photograph: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Updated

McGowan says the positive case in now in hotel quarantine.

He is a 27-year-old male backpacker. He’s a close contact of an existing case.

He shared a bathroom with that person. He is not vaccinated. It’s believed he was infectious in the community.

So therefore there is a range of exposure sites we have published already, and probably more will be published shortly.

Updated

McGowan:

Looking forward, if we keep getting vaccinated, getting our third doses, if we learn the lessons from other jurisdictions that have allowed the virus to spread, it means we will be in the best possible position to safely reconnect with the rest of the world.

Everyone wants to move forward and move forward safely. If we stick together do the right thing by each other, by checking in, getting vaccinated, following the public health advice, we will all get through this.

Updated

McGowan:

At a point in the future if we need to move to the national settings, that is what we will do.

But like I have always said, WA is in the best possible position because we can monitor the situation in other states, learn from it, and ensure WA is best placed to transition and ease border controls at the right time.

It’s a concerning time right now around the country. Everyone is ready – sorry, everyone is ready for this pandemic to be over.

But it’s showing no signs of slowing down.

We have asked a lot from the public over the past two years in order to rise to the challenge in terms of behaviour, vaccination and, frankly, patience.

And I can understand why some would be tired, especially after the boiling hot week that we’ve had. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

If we can eliminate this outbreak, we can get back to the way of life we have enjoyed without any public health restrictions for the rest of the school holidays, hopefully – something I think we would all enjoy.

Updated

WA agrees 'in principle' to close-contact decision: McGowan

McGowan is now talking about national cabinet.

Today’s meeting addressed a range of issues, specifically an updated definition of close contacts and the future use of rapid antigen tests.

It was widely acknowledged at the meeting that Western Australia is in a very different position compared to other states and territories.

That becomes more and more obvious each and every day. While WA has agreed in principle with the changes to testing and close contacts, these new settings will only be implemented in Western Australia at a later stage.

To be clear, the settings agreed at national cabinet today are for jurisdictions with a high-caseload environment, with thousands of daily cases. Western Australia is not in that position.

Updated

McGowan is announcing an assistance package for businesses and artists impacted.

Firstly small businesses impacted by the public health measures will soon be able to apply for a grant of up to $12,500.

Sole traders will also be eligible for a grant up to $4,400.

Those one-off grants are open to eligible businesses, including creative and performing arts, catering, rental and hiring services, and other hospitality businesses.

These businesses will need to demonstrate a reduction in turnover of at least 30% compared to the same 11-day period from last year. Nightclubs that have been forced to close are eligible for a one-off $20,000 grant.

Updated

McGowan says 26,696 vaccines were administered yesterday.

This was pushed by a spike in visitors to state-run clinics, particularly for third doses. Which we know is very important in the fight against Omicron.

Yesterday’s surge in vaccinations means 92% of our population aged 12 or above have now had their third dose. And 84% have had two doses over 12. These numbers are very encouraging.

Remember as soon as you were eligible for your third dose you should immediately get it done.

Updated

McGowan:

Yesterday we did 5,181 Covid tests. As of this morning, 720 close contacts in total have been identified, 40 of whom are yet to be tested.

Of the 40 yet to be tested, 31 were patrons from the Perth mess hall event.

As I said yesterday, a number of attendees will not be able to be located by WA police, due to false or misleading contact information provided.

In addition, 488 casual contacts have now been identified, with 328 yet to be tested.

If you have been identified as a close or casual contact or if you have been to an exposure site, especially the Perth mess hall event, we need you to come forward immediately.

We need you to do the right thing and get tested now.

Updated

WA records one new case of Covid

Premier Mark McGowan:

I can advise that overnight WA has recorded one new local case of Covid-19. That case is a 27-year-old male backpacker.

So far we know he was a close contact of an existing case. He shared a bathroom with that person. That man is not vaccinated.

It is believed he has been infectious in the community, so therefore there are further exposure sites.

These are Dominos pizza East Fremantle on December 28. BP on Queen Victoria Street, in Fremantle on December 28. Portside Boulders climbing gym in O’Connor on December 27. And farmer Jack Spearwood on December 26.

Specific times and further exposure sites will be released publicly as soon as possible.

Updated

We are now jumping over to WA.

Updated

Tasmania will drop PCR tests for interstate arrivals

Visitors to Tasmania will no longer need a PCR test to enter the state from January 1 onwards.

Travellers will have to return a negative RAT test 24 hours prior to travel to Tasmania.

Updated

Fyles:

There is two more cases associated with a birthday party event in Darwin on December 23. So yesterday I reported on a nine-year-old girl that had tested positive. And so these two other cases attended that same event in Darwin on December 23.

There is four more cases where I don’t have the details. The contact tracing is under way.

They are today’s cases and I want to reiterate we saw a significant increase in the test number – 3,600 versus 1,600 yesterday.

We have 37 cases in the NorthernTerritory reported in the last 24 hours. So it is disappointing to have 37 cases but the good news is that that rate of spread is still low in terms of those positive cases.

Updated

Fyles:

Eight cases are household contacts of a case that we reported from Christmas Day in Katherine. All of those contacts I understand were in isolation.

One of the cases is a known household contact from Tennant Creek – a female in her 20s. So those cases are the eight and the one from Tennant Creek are linked to our ‘regional cluster’ that we’re referring to it as, and that takes the total number for that cluster to 163 cases.

Additionally, we have a number of cases. I will provide some details on them to Territorians.

One of them is a worker in the centre for national resilience. But they are the contact of an interstate traveller. So a household contact has recently returned from interstate and the cause of that transmission is under investigation.

One of them is a nurse at Royal Darwin Hospital and we have contact tracing under way for that case.

Two of them are US marines that recently arrived at Robertson barracks from Queensland.

Additionally we have a worker that is at the Groote Eylandt mine that arrived into the Territory yesterday.

I understand and we have been able to identify the close contacts in that case.

There is eight other cases which are interstate arrivals into the Northern Territory. And there is a further nine cases which are household contacts of recent interstate arrivals.

Updated

NT records 37 additional cases

We are just jumping to the Northern Territory, where health minister Natasha Fyles says there are 37 new cases.

Before I go to the details around those cases, I need to notify Territorians we have seen a significant increase in testing in the last 24 hours.

We saw 3,625 tests conducted in the territory.

Yesterday’s figures were reported against around 1,600 tests. So we have seen more than double the tests and that accounts for this increase in cases.

Updated

Some big changes ahead. To recap:

Leaders at nat cab have agreed to revise the definition of a close contact. So that is now someone who has been more than four hours with a confirmed positive case in a house, accommodation or care-facility setting.

The states can determine exceptional circumstances where more people have to isolate - so, suspected super-spreader events.

Positive cases have to isolate for seven days, with a test on day six.

Close contacts have to isolate for seven days and have a PCR test if they are symptomatic. A close contact who is asymptomatic must have a rapid antigen test.

Updated

Lastly, the PM was asked if he had a response to the protests this morning and the damage to Old Parliament House.

I am disgusted and appalled by behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country.

I just think it is appalling and I think it is disgraceful, and I think that the authorities should act swiftly in accordance to the law and people should face consequences of their actions.

This is not justified. This is not how Australia works.

We have a rule of law in this country and people should obey it.

And as we come into this New Year and as we reflect on many things of the past 12 months, it has been a tough year for so many Australians, and we still think of the six families in Tasmania.

It has been really tough, but we live in one of the greatest countries in the world.

We enjoy freedoms here. We enjoy a healthcare system. We enjoy freedoms that few countries enjoy to the same extent that we do and have over such a long period of time.

So, while Australia has had a tough year, there is still a lot to celebrate by the simple fact that we are Australians and we live in Australia.

Updated

Frewen reminds people that the booster eligibility has been brought forward.

We went from six months to five months and that brought a number of million extra people back in, and as I have said, on the first of January we go from 4.1 million to 7.6 million.

That is a large amount of people in a very short space of time, but the numbers are progressing well, and we will ramp up to January.

Both New South Wales and Victoria, have committed to getting their clinics back up to 300,000 doses a week, which is where we were at the height of the rollout. So once we get nationally back up to the high levels ... we will get through people.

General John Frewen
Covid booster shots will ‘ramp up’ in January: Gen John Frewen. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Reporter: 43% of those eligible for boosters have not had their boosters yet?

Morrison:

The rate of dosage for boosters is running at six times the rate of first doses when we started, and at around twice the rate of second doses, so the booster rate is actually running significantly faster than we have seen in the last two doses of the vaccination program.

I also make this point: that when someone becomes eligible, that does not mean that they are overdue, OK?

I would encourage people to do it as soon as hey can, but by the end of January, general, we will have close to 16 million people.

You can’t vaccinate 16 million people on one day, but there is no shortage of vaccines. There is 20 million vaccines here in Australia. That is enough to boost 80% of the Australian population, and more coming over the course of the first half of this year, so there is no shortage of supply.

This is why we, again, stressed today the need to get the state clinics up and running and that is exactly what they are doing, and to get ourselves off at the world record rates we had in October – when we were running at 300,000 a day on some occasions – that is where we want to get back to. But to do that you need all cylinders firing.

Updated

General John Frewen is asked by Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst about the booster rollout in aged care facilities. Frewen says:

We have been focused on aged care facilities, and of the slightly over 2,500 aged care facilities at the moment, we have done already a visit to about 1,500 of those.

The eligibility has shifted, of course, so more have become due this year.

Some of them are scheduled in January. We are now trying to move them to 1 January.

The remainder will fall in the second half of January and we are well engaged with the vaccine providers to get them all scheduled in the second half...

Hurst: Does that mean 1,000 aged care facilities have not been visited for boosters yet?

Frewen:

They had not been eligible so they are becoming eligible now and we have plans in place to visit them as soon as possible.

Updated

Kelly is asked if these changes will accelerate the outbreak.

We will have more cases. There is no doubt about that. This is a way of coping with that last caseload. It is about using the resources we have wisely, and I will leave others to their own opinion.

Updated

Morrison is asked if he can ensure these changes won’t result in more lives lost. He says:

I am confident that this is the best way to manage the Omicron pandemic. That is what I am confident about.

Reporter: What personal responsibility will you take?

Morrison:

It is the same that I have taken all through this pandemic as prime minister. Every single day, when I first stood before you here, and Australia was one of the first countries in the world to call it the pandemic – two weeks before the World Health Organisation.

Each and every day I have focused on this pandemic to ensure that we have got the best possible settings that we can have, so I do take responsibility for the decisions we have taken

I do take responsibility for the fact that Australia has one of the lowest death rates in the world, that we have one of the strongest economies coming through the pandemic, and we, indeed, have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. These are all of my responsibilities.

Updated

Morrison is asked about people struggling to get a rapid antigen test.

If you are not symptomatic and not a close contact, then go home.

That is the first way. That is the first way to be able to ensure that we keep those queues down. In terms of the supplies in the private market, in pharmacies and shops, supermarkets and places like that, what is important is they have the certainty that they know that governments aren’t all of a sudden going to go round and start providing these free to anybody and everybody.

We will be providing them only where it is recommended to us that they need to be provided... for our aged care workers or in those high-risk settings, or indeed what we hope to arrange for schooling when we go back to school next year.

Otherwise, people can go get those in the private market.

Updated

Morrison is asked about NYE. The prime minister says:

What I would like people to do tomorrow night is enjoy the evening.

I would like them to be looking forward into 2022 and looking forward confidently. Because Australia’s feature is bright. What I would like people to do tomorrow night is exercise common sense and follow all the normal precautions that we have been talking about.

We have been living with this virus now and the virus has been around us now for two years. And we understand a lot more about it than we previously did and we understand how it is transferred.

I would expect people to show appropriate caution, commonsense, treat each other with a sort of respect for their health, as well in terms of how they are engaging with them, and enjoy a beautiful, hopefully, summer evening all around the country as we move from 2021 into 2022.

Updated

Booster program 'absolutely crucial': CMO

Chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly says that “the booster program is absolutely crucial” to fighting the virus.

The second one is public health and social measures. Wearing masks, as you all are today, that is very important, one of the other things that are in place and are a matter for the states and territories.

The third one is tests, trace, isolate and quarantine ... And make sure that those people that are the closest contacts are getting rapidly diagnosed, rapidly isolating and therefore protecting the rest of the community. That is the absolute key piece.

Updated

Morrison is asked what pressure these changes might put on the hospital system. He says:

What we’re dealing with is a different variant that has a high volume with lower severity illness.

And we have done endless rounds of modelling over the last many months about the impacts on the hospital system. And so it really does become an issue of the proportion of total number of cases that end up in serious illnes, that put pressure on hospital system.

And these are the issues that of course are being worked through the medical expert panel and the chief medical officer.

What I want to make very clear today is the definition we have adopted today has actually come forward from the chief medical officer, which I strongly agree with.

It is a practical definition to deal with the circumstances of the new period and maximise the resources we have available to deal with a pandemic.

We have significant resources to do that, more than most countries around the world. Hence why we have one of the best responses and outcomes from Covid anywhere in the world.

Scott Morrison arrives to address the media after the national cabinet meeting today
Scott Morrison arrives to address the media after the national cabinet meeting today. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Morrison is asked about the Therapeutic Goods Administration approving rapid antigen tests. He says:

As I said yesterday, that we have current applicants who have had their products withdrawn by the FDA in the United States.

There will be some who will be out there selling their wares. The only way they will have anything approved by the TGA is if they comply with the requirements of the TGA, they provide the data that the TGA insists on providing.

There are a number of applicants who haven’t provided that. And of course you wouldn’t expect them to be approved in those circumstances.

Updated

Morrison is back up:

What is in South Australia, I want to stress, while they are adopting the definition of close contact from midnight tonight, they are continuing with a 10-day rule in South Australia.

Nothing is further changing on the isolation arrangement in South Australia, but the definition of a close contact is, as I have said today. In relation, something Lieutenant General Frewen just mentioned, just because someone becomes eligible for a booster does not mean that if they have not had a booster by that day they are overdue.

That is something that has been pedalled out there which is not accurate, it is not true. You become eligible from a particular date. And from that date, we encourage people to go and have the booster.

Updated

Frewen says there are 16 million doses of mRNA vaccines sitting in storage.

There will of course be areas where demand outstrips the immediate ordering.

And we continue to work with all of the providers to get either urgent deliveries to them or work local redistribution.

We urge any [one] who is running low on supply, please contact the vaccine operation centre and we will make sure we get additional vaccine to you as quickly as we can. January will be a big month.

Updated

More than 50% of eligible people have had booster: Frewen

General John Frewen is up:

As of yesterday, 2.3 million of the 3.9 million eligible people have had their boosters, which represents around 57%.

There were 149,000 vaccines administered yesterday ... Pleasingly, 60,000 of those vaccines were delivered through pharmacies, which is a record for pharmacies – the first day that pharmacists have delivered more than GPs.

Updated

Kelly says the good news is that the virus is less severe:

The other key element of this is we need to protect our PCR testing for where the best bang for buck is. We have seen over the last week an increase in the positivity rate from around 1%, which is what we have seen throughout the pandemic, to almost 5%, and even higher in some states.

That demonstrates to me that we are not getting to the people that we need to get to, in terms of PCR testing, hence that risk-based approach for who we want to come forward for PCR testing.

Updated

Chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly:

It is a different virus, very different from previous versions of the virus we have seen over the last two years.

What is the difference? We know it is very transmissible – it is at least as transmissible as Delta. And is transmitting fast in the community, as we have seen – 110,000 active cases now in Australia, and that is continuing to rise.

I expect will continue to rise ... It is less severe. I think that is becoming very clear now.

We have had good news overnight, there was a paper that I read from South Africa, which is a different country to us in various ways, but they have had the longest and most extensive experience of this particular form of the Covid-19 virus, the Omicron variant.

They are seeing a 73% decrease in severity. And that is becoming very clear now, in terms of their measures of severity with this virus. That is similar to what we’re seeing in Australia.

Updated

Morrison says nat cab is trying to get the balance right.

That is with Omicron, we cannot have hundreds of thousands of Australians or more taken out of circulation based on rules that were set for the Delta variant.

We need rules for the Omicron variant, so that we can keep our economy working and get people in jobs, we can keep Australia open, and we can focus the resources that we have on the tasks that are most urgent.

At the end of the day, get your booster, monitor your symptoms, check in where you are going and use common sense to manage your health responsibly and that of your family.

Updated

Morrison says there are some changes to isolation requirements for healthcare workers at next week’s national cabinet meeting.

In addition, we will be looking at the issue of concessional access in the private market to rapid antigen tests, working with the states and territories on that issue.

They are responsible for the rapid antigen test that are being distributed in their testing centres; the commonwealth looks after aged care and a number of high-risk settings.

We will continue to do that. Specific orders are in place and stocks are on the way here to a number of the states, including the federal government.

Updated

Morrison says some vulnerable groups will still be able to access them.

Where possible, particularly for vulnerable groups, we would seek to do those through the pharmacy network and through the private network, and that would bedone through a registration system similar to how we manage things like the PBS and things of that nature which pharmacy is very used to dealing with.

But for all other casual uses, you would just like to get a test or something like that, well, that is what the private market is for.

Updated

Free rapid antigen tests only for those who meet 'close contact' criteria: PM

Morrison says the RATs will be free only if you meet the criteria.

Anyone else who would like to get a rapid antigen test, well, go to your pharmacy or the supermarket or the warehouse, big suppliers, where, we believe – as a result of making this change and being very clear about who is being provided with a public test and who is not, all the private industry who gave us that advice this week – they can go now.

They can book their supplies, they can get them on the shelves and not have any concern that, somehow, a new policy will come in and tests will be handed out to anyone who wants one.

It was agreed today that will not be the policy in Australia.

Rapid antigen tests will be provided publicly at those testing centres for those who require one according to the rules that I have set down, and we have taken out of national cabinet today.

Updated

Morrison says he knows this is a big change to how we have rolled the last two years.

I know this is a bit different to what you have been hearing over the last couple of years. That is the gearchange. That is the reset. That is what we need people to really understand, and I know it is a change from what has been said, but dealing with Delta is very different to dealing with a Omicron, and to ensure that our public health systems work as effectively to keep as many people are safe as possible, that is why we need to make this change.

Updated

Morrison says this will reduce the pressure on testing centres.

Which means we will be able to increase the turnaround time of these tests, getting results back to those who need to take them. In addition to that, it will also free up, we hope, a lot more workforce that is currently being focused on these tests to be able to be supporting the other priorities for managing the pandemic.

In particular, the boosting clinics and centres or administering the vaccine.

Updated

Covid testing centres to provide rapid antigen tests, PM says

Morrison says RATs will be provided at testing centres.

We will transfer over the next few weeks from PCR to these rapid antigen tests with, at the state testing centres, over the next couple of weeks.

Some large states will be moving to get those rapid antigen tests to those testing centres as soon as they can and that will happen over the next few days and the next few weeks.

If you are eligible for a rapid antigen test and there is one stay at that time, you will be given one. You will go home, take it and follow those rules.

If that is not a rapid antigen test there then we will still give you a PCR test in the transition.

Updated

Morrison says if that’s not you - do not go and get tested.

If you don’t fulfil this definition of a close contact then there is no need for you to be in that line.

You should go home. Goto the beach, go and do what you want to do. Read a book in the park. Follow all the normal, common sense things that you would do, monitor your symptoms, follow the Covid-safe practices, make sure you have booked for your booster, do all of those sorts of things but there is no need for you to be in that line.

Updated

PM explains new isolation rules

Morrison:

So, to summarise, if you are a confirmed case, seven days.

On the sixth day, you have a rapid antigen test and if that is [negative] after seven days, you can go back into the community.

If you are a close contact, you get a rapid antigen test. If that returns a negative, you still remain in isolation for those seven days and you have a rapid antigen test again on day six.

If you are a close contact and you are symptomatic, go and get a PCR test.

If you are a close contact that returns a positive rights test, go and get a PCR test.

Updated

Morrison:

So, if you are symptomatic, and that goes for anyone who is symptomatic, by the way, if you are symptomatic, then at the right test is a PCR test.

A close contact who is asymptomatic does not have symptoms, must have a rapid antigen test, and if positive, they must then have a PCR test.

In that case, they become a confirmed case and the rules that apply to confirmed cases apply to them.

Now, close contacts that return a negative test, they must remain isolated for those seven days because symptoms and other things can present later.

And that is seven days from their date of exposure to the person who is a confirmed case, and they also will have a rapid antigen test on day six.

Updated

Morrison:

Now, a confirmed case would isolate for seven days from the date. So someone who actually has Covid, from the date that they took the test, they would have to isolate for seven days and have a negative rapid test, a rapid antigen test, on day six, prior to being able to leave isolation after seven days.

A close contact that is symptomatic must have a PCR test, still.

Updated

National cabinet agrees on new definition of 'close contact'

The definition is as follows:

Similar to what I said to you yesterday -except in exceptional circumstances, a close contact is a household contact, or household like, of a confirmed case only.

A household contact is someone who lives with a case or hasn’t spent more than four hours with them in our house, accommodation or care facility setting.

So, you are only a close contact if you are, effectively, living with someone or have been in an accommodation setting with someone for more than four hours with someone who has actually got Covid - is not someone who is in contact with someone who has had Covid.

Updated

Nat cab has agreed on a new definition for close contact with some states chnaging that now while others will follow.

It will come into effect in New Wales, Victoria, Queensland, SouthAustralia and here in the ACT.

Tasmania will follow on the 1 January, and the Northern Territory and Western Australia will be making announcements, particularly the Northern Territory, in the next few days to confirm how they will be moving to these new definitions.

Updated

Morrison says national cabinet has agreed on “very practical way forward” that recognises that states and territories are in different stages.

There is increasing evidence of reduced severity of overgrown, which is welcome news.

Today there are 122 people in ICU and there are 51 people on ventilators, actually less than the number I mentioned to you yesterday. We are saying that the severity of this illness, the impact, particularly on those in hospital, in the most extreme illness situations, is remaining relatively constant, and that is an experience we are seeing in other countries as well.

Updated

When’s a good time to release some bad data? How about the eve of New Year’s Eve?

So today the Queensland government has published the delayed statewide landcover and trees study (SLATS) that covers land clearing for the 2018-19 year.

During those 12 months, landholders cleared 680,688 hectares. It’s a bit tricky to compare with previous years – such as the 392,000 hectares reportedly cleared in 2017-18 – as the remote technology has been improved.

Still, it appears that Queensland is clearing a lot of land. The 2018-19 tally amounts to about 3800 times the size of Melbourne’s CBD, or more than 2,400 times Sydney’s.

“This report is a carbon bomb that threatens to blow up the commitments to net zero emissions by 2050 made by the Queensland and Australian governments,” Dr Stuart Blanch, a WWF-Australia conservation scientist, said in a statement.

It shows clearing has likely been significantly under-reported in previous reports. The latest SLATS data was compiled using satellite images that are three times more accurate than the previous imagery and cover much more of the state. The data provides a new national best-practice standard that all governments and industry should adopt.

To give the amount some context, Australia’s national greenhouse gas inventory estimated land clearing in 2018 calendar year was about 370,000 hectares nationwide. In that year, the commonwealth government also claimed the land sector was a net sink in the order of more than 20m tonnes of carbon dioxide.

As Guardian Australia reported a couple of months ago, there is good reason to think Australia’s statistics underestimate the amount of land clearing that is going on. Today’s figures from Queensland are only going to add to those concerns.

Updated

Prime minister says Omicron a 'game changer' after national cabinet meets

Scott Morrison says:

Omicron is a game changer. It has been in the country for just over a month.

We have taken the care to ensure that we are understanding it as best we can, examining the impact on our hospital system to ensure we are recalibrating in the right way so Australia can continue to live with this virus.

Updated

OK we are jumping to the PM now.

Updated

Finally, Marshall says there was a “large discussion” at national cabinet regarding the use of rapid antigen tests. All states agreed to transition away from PCR tests and towards rapid antigen tests:

It is fair to say that there are increasing numbers now coming into Australia. No state will be giving these away free of charge. This is completely against public health advice, except in circumstances with particularly vulnerable communities. Some states spoke about there might be a particularly vulnerable cohort that they want to administer these to in a reasonably rapid period of time. But we all agreed that we will be making a transition to more people using the rapid antigen tests and getting out of the lineups for a PCR test.

Updated

Marshall says two-thirds of all the people lining up for PCR tests in South Australia are asymptomatic.

These people, really, quite frankly, should not be in the line unless they were close contacts of somebody who was a positive case.

We really do want to free-up our capacity for testing for those people who have symptoms and over the next 24-48 hours we will look at putting new directions in place to make it very clear to every single person in South Australia that we really want to test people that have symptoms or are close contacts of those people that have symptoms. So just a bit of advance warning that we will be significantly tightening up on that.

Updated

Marshall says the national cabinet also discussed the time close contacts and positive cases should isolate.

As of the next 24-48 hours, South Australia will move to 10 days for people who are Covid-positive and seven days for those people who are close contacts. If they are unvaccinated, it will remain at 14 days.

Updated

Marshall turns to the national cabinet. He says three critical things were discussed - the first being the standard definition of what a close contact is:

Now, you might recall if we go back several months ago, we were very, very keen to get everybody that was a close contact or a casual contact into isolation to stop the spread. We were pursuing, at that point, an elimination strategy so that we did not put our state into lockdown, like we saw in New South Wales, in Victoria and the ACT.

We have a completely different strategy [now]. It is completely different variants, and we are in a very, very different stage at the moment, so we are looking to suppress the transmission of this disease, and take the appropriate action for this stage of this particular variant.

Today, we agreed that we would, very significantly, narrow the definition of a close contact. This will, essentially, [mean] the people who are a household or intimate contact with a positive case. And also, each state will look at exceptions, or exceptional circumstances, in their state.

Updated

South Australia reports 1,374 Covid cases

South Australia has recorded 1,374 new cases overnight. There are still 37 people being treated in hospital.

Marshall says numbers are likely to “bob around” for some time.

Updated

Covid-positive child under two dies in SA

South Australian premier Steven Marshall is speaking now following national cabinet. He says a Covid-positive child aged under two has died:

A Covid-positive child under the age of two has, sadly, passed away. This is still being determined as the cause of death. Obviously, we will refer this to the coroner. It is similar to the 95-, 94-year-old woman that we reported the other day,[where] we knew that she passed away with Covid but not necessarily of Covid, so we will need to do that investigation. But very sad news that a child under the age of two, Covid-positive, has passed away.

Updated

Perrottet is asked what the point of QR codes is now that the system of contact tracing is changing and more and more people are becoming infected.

He says:

Obviously there was a lot of debate and discussion as we opened up, we planned to remove QR codes in low-risk settings, we kept them and mandated them at high-risk settings to allow ... our health teams to track and trace those cases.

There was concern, and hearing from public feedback that was very comfortable with the QR settings we brought them back in a limited way ... As we learn to live alongside the virus, the utility of those QR codes over time will completely dissipate.

Updated

Mike Bowers, photographer at large for Guardian Australia, has been down at Old Parliament House surveying the damage. He says traditional owners at the tent embassy are frustrated and attempting to keep media from the site.

Fire damage to Old Parliament House today
Fire damage to Old Parliament House today. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Perrottet says the “substantial investment” the state has placed into its health system gives him confidence NSW will be able to cope with rising case numbers. Which, keep in mind, jumped by more than 100 hospitalisations in the past 24 hours:

We always said as we open up case numbers would increase and we’ll expect that continue to occur as we live along the virus. What’s incredibly pleasing is we still have capacity in our health system ... that is the measure of success as the key metric for us, not the case number itself. Please expect as we open up, case numbers will increase.

Updated

New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet is speaking now on 2GB. He says restricting the definition of close contacts is a “more balanced approach” that “suits the circumstances” we are currently facing.

Updated

The government has released a response condemning the fire at Old Parliament House on behalf of the minister assisting the prime minister and cabinet, Ben Morton.

Read it in full here:

Criminal damage has no place in our democracy. Australia is one of the leading democracies in the world and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House has become a physical symbol of the strength and success of our Australian democratic system.

We have led the world in the development of our Australian democratic system. Our democratic success is based on the principles of freedom, respect, fairness and equality of opportunity. Millions across the world can only but dream to live in and have the opportunities afforded to them that come with living in a liberal democracy like Australia.

No system of government is perfect. In our democracy the freedom to peaceful protest is one that we can and should celebrate. Today’s actions at Old Parliament House were not peaceful. The resulting damage undermines the message that peaceful protesters seek to deliver.

As minister responsible for Old Parliament House I was reassured by the chair of Old Parliament House that at the last board meeting, the board was fully briefed by management on planning and preparations for these protests and the board was satisfied with the planning and preparations.

The protection of the building is paramount and given the live operational issues, management have made decisions based on advice from security agencies. Disappointingly, but necessarily, visitor access has been restricted at times. It is the government’s expectation that all illegal activity should be dealt with by the police and the courts to the full extent possible.

I thank the first responders. They should not have to put themselves in harm’s way to deal with the fire. The damage to the building will be fully restored back to its original condition.

Police on guard outside the fire-damaged entrance to Old Parliament House in Canberra today
Police stand guard outside the fire-damaged entrance to Old Parliament House in Canberra today. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Before we hear from the prime minister, it’s Caitlin Cassidy back with you for the next little while. Caits coming in from all angles today.

Scott Morrison is due to address reporters at Parliament House in Canberra at 3.10pm AEDT.

Updated

This has not been independently verified by Guardian Australia but there are a lot of reports the protesters today are a “sovereign citizen” group.

Updated

ACT reports record 253 Covid cases

From AAP:

The ACT has reported 253 new cases of Covid-19, beating its previous high – set two days earlier – by a single case.

There are six people in hospital, with no one in intensive care or requiring ventilation.

The new cases bring the territory’s tally of active cases up to 1,134.

The infections were picked up alongside almost 4,000 negative tests returned.

Updated

The Tasmanian premier, Peter Gutwein, is expected to address the media at 3pm after Nat-Cab.

We are not sure what time the PM is speaking yet.

Updated

ACT police have released a statement into the fire at Old Parliament House. Here it is in full:

There has been ongoing protest activity at the front of Old Parliament House throughout the past fortnight.

Old Parliament House was evacuated earlier today after protestors started a fire at the front doors of the building - this was quickly extinguished by ACT Fire & Rescue.

A police investigation into the cause of the fire has commenced.

Old Parliament House will remain closed until further notice.

Updated

Australians may have to receive two or even three Covid jabs each year to maintain defences against the virus if early results on the efficacy of booster shots turn out to be a useful guide.

Weekly data published just before Christmas by the UK’s Health Security Agency shows the effectiveness of both the Pfizer and Moderna boosters against symptomatic diseases is lower for the Omicron than the Delta variant across all periods after the injection.

The analysis included 147,597 Delta and 68,489 Omicron cases in the UK. The agency stressed the “results should be interpreted with caution due to the low counts and the possible biases related to the populations with highest exposure to Omicron (including travellers and their close contacts) which cannot fully be accounted for”.

This is a thread from Twitter user Isabelle AI who says healthcare workers in Sydney are exhausted, and begs the PM and premier to visit the front line.

Updated

ACT police are expected to hold a press conference about the fire at Old Parliament House soon.

I want to point out again – we don’t know what’s happened today or why the fire started.

Updated

Huge queues for booster shots in Sydney.

Protesters on the scene say the police approached the smoking ceremony, spraying pepper spray which then resulted in the fire.

I really want to stress that we haven’t yet been able to confirm any of the claims.

We are getting more information for you and have put these accusations to ACT police.

Updated

To be clear - we are not sure exactly what has happened at Old Parliament House this morning, or what the context for the protest is.

We are chasing the information and will bring you more detail when we have it.

Updated

The federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, also called for caution regarding the push to narrow the definition of a close contact.

When asked about the federal government proposal to narrow the definition, Albanese said it would make sense to have national consistency, and a “commonsense approach” should be taken.

But in order to achieve that, as well, we do need to deal with people’s anxieties. When we had a lifting, for example, of the QR codes, and people not being notified, what occurred was that a range of people just chose to then not go about their normal way of life and to withdraw from activity. So we need to be cautious about this.

Albanese said the national cabinet should review the matter thoroughly, “and we want to see the states bring their public health advice”.

All we’ve heard so far is Scott Morrison’s view about this. We want to hear the approach that state governments think should be taken to this.

But what we do urge is there needs to be consistency, there needs to be clarity and certainty and common sense, because businesses and the Australian people in individual states and across the country are really struggling with this hodgepodge of constantly changing rules and definitions.

Albanese pivoted to a broader critique of Morrison (with an election due by May), declaring that the Prime Minister “can’t continue to just come up with a new slogan in order to get the headline every week”.

This prime minister needs to do something other than go to a focus group this morning and get a definition about ‘shake and bake’ ...

This prime minister speaks about personal responsibility. This is the guy who won’t take responsibility for his job, whose most common phrase is ‘it’s not my job’ when asked about things that clearly are the job of the Australian prime minister.

Updated

Fire at Old Parliament House now extinguished

OK, we can confirm the fire at Old Parliament House is now out.

ACT Fire and Rescue were called at 11.45am, and the crew found the two front doors alight.

The building was evacuated and fire crews put the blaze out. ACT Police are now handling the incident.

We know that a large number of protesters had been at the site just before the blaze.

More to come on this as we have it.

Updated

From AAP:

Tens of thousands of revellers are still expected to flood Melbourne for New Year’s Eve celebrations, despite record Covid-19 infections.

Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said it was undeniable celebrations have taken a hit from the pandemic - normally hundreds of thousands of people flock to the city and an entertainment drawcard has been cancelled.

However, she assured those who have tickets to four event zones in the city, open to the double-vaccinated only, that there was still plenty to enjoy.

“Within the celebration zones, there is family-friendly entertainment, more than 115 artists will be dazzling and delighting the crowds, there is a 9.30pm fireworks show, particularly for families and children,” she told reporters.

Streets will be closed for outdoor dining, families can bring a picnic and there will be alcohol-free zones.

“Post the 9.30pm show, we move more into glitter balls, DJs and dancing as people look forward to heralding the end of 2021 with a midnight firework show across those four celebration zones,” she said.

However, the pandemic’s ongoing impact on freight, logistics and workplaces’ ability to train staff also means the city of Melbourne has cancelled its drone swarm at Docklands as part of its New Year’s Eve celebrations.

It is hoping the drone event provider, Celestial, can deliver the spectacle in January.

Updated

We know emergency services are now at Old Parliament House. Videos are being shared online – we will bring you more information as we have it.

Updated

Old Parliament House on fire

Several journalists on Twitter are reporting that Old Parliament House in Canberra is on fire.

We are trying to find out more for you now and will keep you updated.

Updated

Hello everyone, this is Cait Kelly. I’ll be taking you through the second half of the day.

Here’s some weather for you first up. It’s going to be hot, hot, hot over the next few days.

Updated

The Queensland press conference has just ended, and with that, I will pass the blog on to Cait Kelly.

She will bring you all the latest developments, including what comes out of national cabinet, due to meet at midday.

Updated

Back to Queensland, and Gerrard says this is “the best time” for the state to be experiencing a pandemic. The weather is warm, Queenslanders have had the opportunity to get vaccinated, and school is off for summer:

This is the first time Queenslanders will experience the true pandemic ... if we are going to experience the pandemic, then January is probably the best time to be experiencing it, because it’s warm ... and schools are on holidays. This is the time to be having a pandemic.

Updated

Over in South Australia, Steven Marshall will have more to say later in the day after national cabinet meets.

Updated

Queensland 'won't function' without close contact changes, CHO says

Gerrard says the “vast majority” of people who acquire Covid while fully vaccinated will experience a relatively mild illness. But “even if only a tiny proportion of a large number of people needs to go to hospital ... that’s still a large number”.

Gerrard says “certainly” tens of thousands of cases will be detected in the state, and the definition of close contacts needs to change or “the country won’t function”.

If we continue to use our current settings, then all of us will be in quarantine, and the state won’t function.

Turning to the Torres Strait, Gerrard says there are 11 cases in Thursday Island and one case in the rural town of Cherbourg overnight. Lockdowns are not being considered at this point but the community will be consulted.

He says “we are not going to stop the Omicron virus” but there are some things that can slow its spread – like mask-wearing and working from home if you can.

Updated

Gerrard says there are five things to do if you test positive to Covid-19:

  1. Self isolate and tell those you live with to self isolate and get tested.
  2. Answer health care questions you are asked when called by a health worker.
  3. Tell the people you’ve been in contact with to get tested and quarantine.
  4. Ensure you have supplies of food and medications for a fortnight.
  5. Look after yourself and keep a symptom diary.

Updated

To hospitalisations in Queensland, and there are 1,809 cases receiving care in their homes, and 103 cases in hospital.

But it’s difficult to work out what proportion are there for treatment and symptoms and what proportion are there for other reasons. There are at least 29 people receiving treatment for Covid in hospitals. Gerrard says:

Even if you’re vaccinated there is a significant chance you will acquire this illness in the coming weeks.

Updated

Queensland’s chief health minister Dr John Gerrard is up, breaking down today’s figures. He says case numbers will continue to rise, but vaccines work, and will hopefully keep intensive care admissions low:

Trying to relay this message in a balanced manner is quite difficult ... if I can just take you back and compare what’s happening now with 2020. To the end of June 2020 in Australia there were 8,566 Covid cases diagnosed, so about the same number as we’ve seen in Queensland since the borders opened just over two weeks ago.

Associated with that 8,566 cases last year were 204 intensive care admissions and 30 deaths. In Queensland so far since this latest wave, we have seen no intensive care admissions and there have been no deaths reported.

It is likely in the coming days there will be intensive care admissions ... the really big issue though in trying to balance this message is we’re not going to be talking about 8,000 cases in a few weeks, we’re going to be talking about tens of thousands of cases ... but the good thing is the vaccines are working and they’ve been clearly demonstrated to work.

Updated

Queensland records 2,222 Covid cases

Grace has announced Queensland’s numbers. There were a record 2,222 Covid cases detected in some 30 local government areas, a slight jump on yesterday’s record figure.

There are now 8,586 active cases in the state.

The good news is there is nobody being treated in intensive care.

Updated

Further north, Queensland education minister Grace Grace is speaking in Brisbane now to provide a Covid update while also announcing funding for kindergarten services in the state.

Updated

Tasmania records 92 new Covid cases

Tasmania has reported 92 new Covid cases overnight – almost a doubling of cases in one day – as well as new hospitalisations for the first time since the borders reopened to hotspots.

Three people are now in hospital, with one admitted for an unrelated medical reason.

There are now 386 active cases in the state.

Updated

Albanese takes aim at Morrison over shortage of rapid antigen tests

Back to politics, and Daniel Hurst has brought us some more of federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese’s comments this morning.

Albanese says people are “crying out for clarity and certainty” and says the prime minister, Scott Morrison, should stop passing the buck.

Albanese used a media conference in Adelaide this morning to demand outcomes from today’s national cabinet meeting (which is due to begin at midday AEDT).

Albanese said:

The truth is that there’s so much uncertainty out there. What we need out of today’s meeting is some clarity. Because people are anxious. People are worried, people are voting with their feet by not going out, by not going to restaurants, by not undertaking activity that they normally would in the lead-up, particularly, to New Year’s Eve. What we need from today is some national leadership that has been sorely lacking.

We need national leadership when it comes to the rollout of the booster. Too many people still can’t get an appointment for their booster. The prime minister needs to explain why it is that it’s four months in between the second shot and the booster shot in a week’s time, but that is reduced to three months down the track at the end of January. Is that just because of capacity constraints?

Albanese called for certainty regarding the rollout of boosters to people in aged and disability care. He also took aim at Morrison over shortages of rapid antigen tests:

What we’ve seen is state government step up into the void, like the Andrews government, because of the failure of leadership from the Morrison government. Once again, Scott Morrison yesterday, when he appeared at a media conference, spoke about it not being his job. Well, it is his job, and he should do it. As prime minister of the country, we need certainty when it comes to the testing regimes as well and certainty when it comes to the need for isolation. That is what business is crying out for, clarity and certainty. And that is what the population is crying out for as well. But from a prime minister, who’s always playing catch up, always waits until an issue becomes a crisis before there’s any movement whatsoever, and then always is looking for someone else to blame.

Updated

There is a wait time of between eight and nine hours at Victoria Park to get a Covid test:

In lighter news, eBay has revealed some shocking statistics on unwanted Christmas gifts this year. Some 108 pre-loved items were listed every minute on Boxing Day, apparently (do not trust this information).

I’m not sure how they knew specifically what was being listed was an unwanted gift, but either way, this year, eBay data shows that people in NSW and VIC were the most likely to flip their unwanted gifts to make some cash. (As our lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman wisely pointed out, if they were unwanted gifts they would also be listed as “new”, not “pre-loved”.)

Three of the top five postcodes for selling pre-loved items on Boxing Day on eBay belong to Victoria, namely to Werribee, Melbourne CBD and Dandenong, while Sydneysiders in Baulkham Hills/Bella Vista and Ryde/Putney/Denistone East round off the top five.

The top five unwanted gifts were women’s clothing (never buy clothes for your partner), books, trading cards, DVDs and Blu-Rays and coins (coins?). Two coins were listed every minute on Boxing Day, which seems insane.

Updated

OzSage says our health system was stretched before Covid, and has now had its capacity eroded by staff resignations and a blowout in waiting lists. The impact of the “sheer number” of Omicron cases at this time of year could be “enormous”:

The rapid rise in Omicron cases may mean we are only days away from seeing higher hospitalisation and ICU admissions than during the peak of Delta ... NSW recognises the overload of the hospital system and is already warning the community not to expect access to hospital care. One week ago, NSW Health advised people under 50 years to care for themselves at home, without access to Hospital in The Home. This week, they have revised the age cut off to anyone under 65 years.

This is the ultimate in “personal responsibility” – where citizens are left without access to healthcare and to sort out their own Covid care, as well as do their own contact tracing whilst sick with Covid-19. Consideration should be given to support for people found Covid-19 positive who are in caring roles.

The consequence of this policy is that people may die at home when their lives could have been saved by proper timely healthcare. Without the safety net of regular contact from medical services the unintended consequences are likely to be more ambulance callouts and emergency department presentations. OzSAGE ... found that there were a disturbingly high number of deaths of relatively young people with COVID-19 at home between July and October 2021.

... We remain deeply concerned that people with preventable and treatable complications of Covid-19 may die at home in NSW, without access to even the support of Hospital in The Home.

OzSage says the messaging that we are “all going to get Omicron” that has been coming out of NSW also ignores the vulnerable in our society, who remain at increased risk of severe illness:

The “let it rip” strategy and defeatist narrative that “we are all going to get it” ignores the stark lived reality of the vulnerable of our society. Despite three doses of vaccine, some patients with cancer and other immunosuppressed people have substantially reduced protection against Omicron.

Similarly, people with co-existing health conditions (estimated to be 50% of the adult population) are at increased risk of illness. The impacts of a fragmented testing system and disrupted health system will be felt most by our elderly, lower socio-economic groups, First Nations people, people with disability and regional populations ...

A fatalistic approach will be fatal for some people.

Updated

On the limiting of close contacts, OzSage says they have previously outlined the ongoing importance of contact tracing and QR codes, particularly as nightclubs and restaurants can be the sites of super-spreading events, which we have seen with Omicron:

The proposed change to the definition of a close contact is to reduce testing and resources and is not based on sound public health principles. Close contact definitions need to be based on risk. Risk is related to the amount of exposure to virus-laden aerosols. Risk is not limited to arbitrary four-hour time frames within households.

... The rhetoric that case numbers ‘do not matter’ is incorrect - particularly in the face of the Omicron variant. Daily case numbers are now 10 times higher than during the Delta wave and may be 100 times higher in January. Even if hospitalisation rates are lower with Omicron compared to Delta, a halving of hospitalisation rates with a 10-fold or 100-fold increase in cases will still translate to a high burden on the health system.

So even though hospitalisation rates are lower with Omicron than the previous Delta wave, hospitalisations and ICU occupancy are still on a “steeply rising trend”, which we saw today in NSW when hospitalisations jumped by more than 100 overnight.

The trajectory of observed data suggest that hospitalisation and ICU occupancy are on a steeply rising trend and anticipated to exceed earlier peaks quite soon. In other words, optimistic assumptions about the impact of the Omicron variant on hospital admissions are unrealistic. Introducing a narrower close contact definition when the test positivity rate is currently 13% in NSW is unlikely to improve the burden on the health care system and will instead fuel the outbreak.

Limiting the amount of testing reduces pressure on the test and trace system in the short term but will worsen the health system burden, because it will result in chains of transmission that could otherwise have been stopped.

Updated

Back to the document released by OzSage today, and they’ve detailed some lengthy criticisms about testing in NSW, the risk of Omicron spreading and redefining close contacts.

OzSage says testing in NSW is “failing”, with many people turned away after waiting hours in queues, and testing centres shutting at a time we should be testing more, not less:

There are unacceptable delays in testing results being sent. Worse, there have been >1000 infected people who were sent a negative test result by mistake, and this problem has not been addressed in a transparent fashion. Rather than investing in expanded testing capacity, the response of government is to restrict access to testing by changing the definition of close contacts and allowing PCR test to only family contacts, health workers and a few other groups.

This will reduce our surveillance capacity for new variants and give falsely low case numbers. In addition, the test positive rate is 13% in NSW compared to < 2% during the Delta wave – telling us we need more, not less testing.

OzSAGE says rapid antigen tests are “unaffordable” for low-income people and families, given the need to test multiple times and the severe shortage nationwide:

RATs ... cannot serve as the backbone of the public health test and control system. The results are not reported to the government, so people who test themselves and self-manage their Covid-19 will not be counted in official case numbers. There is unknown reliability of individual RAT brands with the Omicron variant, as a nasal swab (the usual method) is less likely to be positive than a throat swab. There has been no messaging to advise people on swabbing both the nose and throat when doing a RAT. There should still be a requirement for a PCR testing after a positive RAT.

We are disturbed by the repeated messaging that only symptomatic people should get tested, when 40-45% of transmissions are asymptomatic, and even in people who develop symptoms, the peak of infectiousness is in the two days before symptoms begin. The false reassurance of the messaging will result in more cases of viral transmission that otherwise would have been prevented.

Updated

China has labelled prime minister Scott Morrison joining social media app TikTok as a double standard, AAP’s Alex Mitchell reports.

Morrison has previously warned Australians about the Chinese-owned app and said it “connects right back to China”, but he joined on Christmas Eve.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Morrison’s choice of social media apps was “his own business”, but added Australia should not discriminate against Chinese companies:

I need to reiterate that the Australian side should follow the principle of openness and market rules, stop abusing the concept of “national security” or applying double standard to serve its interests, and provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

Australia banned Chinese-owned tech giant Huawei in 2018 and has also cancelled a number of infrastructure deals citing security issues in China.

The prime minister posted two TikTok videos on Christmas Eve and has amassed more than 33,000 followers.

Updated

On the criticisms the AMA has raised regarding the proposal to narrow the definition of a close contact, Hunt says he respects “there are many views”.

This is what the president Dr Omar Khorshid said yesterday evening:

Updated

Back to Hunt – he says his motives after the next election are “to be a dad”.

He also responds to criticism of the government’s handling of rapid antigen tests, saying the TGA wasn’t too slow to approve the tests.

Updated

'Deeply concerned': OzSage releases Covid policy recommendations

Prior to national cabinet, the advisory group OzSage has released a series of recommendations on Covid policies. It says it remains “deeply concerned” about rising Covid numbers in NSW, arguing the decision to remove restrictions as Omicron surged has “cost us dearly”:

We now have over 12,000 cases a day in NSW, a testing system that cannot keep up with demand and a health system so burdened that citizens are being told they may not be able to access healthcare.

Staff stand downs will continue to escalate and effect more and more people. That includes supply chains, logistics and every part of civil society. All models to date assumed good testing capacity and adequate contact tracing. Without these, case numbers will blow out further. At this point in time there is no publicly available modelling to support a National Plan that is based on public health principles which will protect our hospital systems from collapse.

OzSage, a group of experts in epidemiology, health and economics, recommends:

  • A transparent and open investigation into why a private pathology provider issued falsely negative test results to infected people and provide a solution to prevent this happening again.
  • Procuring commonwealth RAT supplies, making them free or subsidising the cost as well as a national notification system for positive RATs.
  • Disseminate information to labs and community about the need for nose and throat swabs for detection of Omicron, as nasal swabbing alone is less accurate.
  • Avoid misleading messaging that tells asymptomatic people they do not need to test. Anyone who has been in close contact should test, regardless of symptoms or location of the contact.
  • Prepare surge health workforce capacity.
  • A fit-for-purpose hospital in the home model and a palliative care plan, and stronger delivery of booster doses at facilities and greater oxygen supplies.
  • Medical advice and current modelling that forms the basis of a state or national Covid-19 response should be publicly available.
  • Transparent reporting of infected people self-caring at home.
  • Deaths at home should be monitored and reported weekly.
  • Isolation times should be no less than seven to 10 days depending on the risk balance for the workforce.
  • Education to overturn the “we are all going to get it” messaging and enable the public and businesses to use simple prevention measures.

Updated

Hunt says “immense progress” has been made on isolation requirements for close contacts. “Practical ways to ensure we don’t have large numbers of workforce on furlough”.

A reminder, the Australian Medical Association and others have raised concerns at the proposed reduction of who is defined a “close contact”, arguing we should instead be expanding PCR tests and it will allow the virus to spread.

Federal health minister Greg Hunt.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated

'Avoid the mosh pit' this New Year's Eve, Greg Hunt says

Turning to New Year’s, Hunt’s sage advice is to “avoid the mosh pit”.

Updated

We’re back on Covid, and Hunt says the commonwealth will deliver 5m Covid-19 vaccines and boosters between now and the end of January.

He says it may take the workforce “a little more time”, because state-run facilities need to boost capacity.

The reduction between vaccine intervals is due to be reduced from 4 January.

Updated

The health minister Greg Hunt is speaking now, and it isn’t Covid related. Instead, Hunt is announcing a new bowel cancer treatment on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

From the new year, the medication Braftovi (encorafenib) will be available for patients with severe colorectal cancer.

Updated

Interrupting Covid transmission briefly to bring you quite an extraordinary claim about the 2032 Olympic Games from federal government frontbencher Stuart Robert:

In an interview last night on Sky News Australia, Robert suggested people should vote for the Coalition to protect the Summer Olympics in Brisbane and south-east Queensland.

The Olympics have bipartisan support and were strongly backed by the Queensland Labor government.

Speaking to Gary Hardgrave, Robert invoked the spectre of the Greens:

In terms of the Olympics in the south-east corner, the way we protect it, the way we ensure that Queensland is ready for it, is to ensure we’ve got a Coalition government. The organisation committee, if you like, the corporate structures of 50/50 with the state and the commonwealth, that will go very well. As long as that good balance is there between the state and the commonwealth, simple answer, Gary, don’t vote in a Labor-Green government. It will not fare well, like it didn’t fare well last time.

Updated

Wait times for Covid tests in the ACT have reduced since the Christmas rush.

As of this morning, the Garran and Kambah testing clinics had a one hour wait time, Nicholls had a 35 minute wait time while the Mitchell drive-through testing clinic had a wait time of 1.5 hours.

The Garran testing centre has been prioritising tests for close and casual contacts, and people with symptoms.

Updated

Greg Hunt will be up in the next 15 minutes.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese spoke in Adelaide this morning ahead of this afternoon’s national cabinet meeting:

The prime minister says he is changing gears, but the truth is he has stalled the recovery. The truth is that there is so much uncertainty out there stop what we need out of today’s meeting is some clarity.

Updated

Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty in sex-trafficking trial

Over in New York, the jury in the sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has reached a verdict and found her guilty on five of six counts.

Read more on the verdict here:

And you can follow our live blog on the case here:

A sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell in court.
A sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell in court. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

Updated

Also concerning is the testing positivity rate.

Some 12.58% of tests in NSW came back positive in the latest reporting period.

In Victoria, 6.33% of tests returned positive results.

Updated

Turning to hospitalisations, there have been more than 100 people hospitalised with Covid overnight in New South Wales.

There are 395 people in hospital with Covid in Victoria, including 55 in ICU, which is staying relatively stable.

But there’s been quite a significant jump in NSW. There are now 746 people being treated in hospital, and 63 in ICU. Yesterday there were 625 hospitalised.

Updated

Victoria records 5,137 new Covid cases

Victoria’s case numbers have also come in and 5,137 new Covid-19 infections have been detected. That’s quite a jump from 3,767 yesterday.

Sadly, 13 lives have been lost overnight.

Updated

NSW records 12,226 new Covid cases

New South Wales case numbers are in – and it’s another daily record.

There have been 12,226 new Covid cases recorded in the state, and one death.

A Covid-19 testing clinic in Sydney’s Rose Bay today.
A Covid-19 testing clinic in Sydney’s Rose Bay today. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA

Updated

AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid has echoed Nancy Baxter’s concerns that redefining a close contact to someone who has spent four hours in a household with a case will accelerate the outbreak. He says resources would be better spent improving PCR availability.

We also have confirmation the national cabinet meeting is due to start at midday.

Updated

Chris Silverwood, head coach of the English cricket team, will miss the fourth Ashes test.

Updated

It’s shaping up to be a hot New Years Eve across Victoria, with severe heatwave conditions in place across the state.

If you’re gathering outdoors be sure to find some shade.

Health minister Greg Hunt will be speaking at the Mount Martha Lifesaving Club at 9.45am this morning.

Updated

Meanwhile, Darwin has been rocked by a large earthquake that hit near Timor-Leste and Indonesia early this morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology says there’s there’s no tsunami threat to Australia.

Read the full report here:

Updated

I wish I had more good news for you today, but unfortunately an endangered pygmy hippo calf has died at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo just a month after her entry into the world.

She was found unresponsive on Christmas Eve, while preliminary findings indicated a potential heart defect.

The hippo was known as a “little watermelon on legs”, and may she rest in peace.

Updated

Here’s some more comments from Nancy Baxter this morning, who expressed concern at the proposed changes to the definition of a close contact.

Good morning

Good morning,

We are limping towards the finish line of the year – just one more day to go.

Caitlin Cassidy here to guide you through this morning’s news – and all eyes are on the national cabinet who will be holding a snap emergency meeting today to grapple with rapidly rising Covid cases across the country.

New South Wales recorded a dramatic jump in Covid cases yesterday, detecting 11,201 infections and three deaths, while Victoria recorded 3,767 cases and five deaths.

It was the first time cases have jumped beyond 10,000 in a single state and a national record for Covid infections. There are predictions daily case numbers could rise beyond 100,000 in the coming weeks.

The prime minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced the national cabinet meeting, which will focus primarily upon settling a uniform national definition of close contacts.

Under the proposed definition, a close contact will be dramatically changed to be someone who has spent four hours or more with a confirmed case in a household or household-like setting.

Prof Nancy Baxter, the head of the University of Melbourne’s school of population and global health, told ABC radio this morning the definition wasn’t fair and would overwhelm our healthcare systems.

It comes with testing centres overwhelmed amid shortages of rapid antigen tests, which have doubling in price in some stores amid concerns of price gouging.

Let’s get stuck in.

Updated

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